This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The next time you need to freshen up the paint on your house or apply a bit of cosmetic glitter before heading out for the night, you might want to give a quick nod to the butterflies fluttering in a nearby garden. Taking inspiration from structures on those wings that create their vibrant colors, researchers are now devising more durable and adjustable colors that are also safer for human health and the environment.
The researchers will present their results at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) during the "Carbon-based Nanomaterials: From Fundamental Insights to Applications" symposium at McCormick Place. ACS Fall 2026 is being held Aug. 23–27. In nature, the chemical structure of some molecules causes them to absorb specific wavelengths of light, reflecting the rest.
It is the reflected light that we perceive as pigmentary color. This is what makes carrots orange (carotenoids), blood red (hemoglobin) and plants green (chlorophyll). As pigmentary colors are exposed to sunlight and other environmental elements, however, the chemical compounds can break down and the colors fade, requiring a refresh.
Additionally, many commercial dye and pigment formulas contain toxic chemicals—or may themselves be toxic. Nature also produces what are known as structural colors, resulting from the physical arrangement (e.g., crystal structures) of molecules. These microscopic formations bend, scatter and interfere with specific wavelengths of light, so that we see only the reflected wavelengths.
Structural colors cause the rainbow of opal gemstones, the blues and greens of peacock feathers, and the deep blue of morpho butterfly wings. "Structural color materials offer two key advantages over most traditional, pigment-based products: durability and vibrancy," says Leila Deravi, the principal investigator of this study. "Because structural color arises from the physical architecture of the material rather than light absorption by a biomolecule, it does not fade over time." Trying to understand how chemical composition and crystal structure influence color generation, Deravi, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, and her colleagues at Northeastern University studied butterflies in the Pieridae family, such as the cabbage white and clouded sulfur varieties commonly found in open meadows.
The researchers will present their findings on pterins, compounds related to those that make up DNA that are found on the surface of butterfly wings. Deravi suggests color intensity could be adjusted by controlling the size and packing of the pterin crystals rather than requiring many different pigments. There might also be safety advantages because these natural biomolecules are already being produced and used by animals and plants.
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